Miriam’s Kitchen: A Memoir

MandelbrotIt means almond bread. It is a crisp and crumbly twice baked nut cookie. There are many versions. This is Miriam's mandelbrot. "It's not my recipe," says Miriam. "My mother had the same recipe, almost, but I can't find it. This is Sonia's mother's recipe.""I don't remember chocolate chips in mandelbrot," I say. Miriam's is made with chocolate chips. I remember mandelbrot from the dim recesses of the past, packed in a shoebox and carried in a grandmother's shopping bag. I am looking at Sonia's mother's recipe, copied in Miriam's ornate, vertical script on a loose-leaf page. I don't see chocolate chips in the list of ingredients, either. "I put them in for the children!" sings Miriam. "And now I will not take them out.""This last batch tasted of cinnamon," I remark, scanning the page again: no cinnamon. "I tried a different recipe. I found one with cinnamon, and my mother used to put cinnamon. Did you like it?""Well, yes–" I say. I remember mandelbrot a bit different, not quite as sweet as Miriam's. It was marvelous. Miriam's is marvelous. Whole boxes of almond-fragrant chocolate-chip-studded crisp oval slices neatly packed disappear in a trice."Sonia's mother used to make kreski–crumb cake. It was out of this world. But she doesn't have the recipe. I asked her for it," says Miriam. "I was heartbroken."I have never had crumb cake. I, too, am heartbroken."Nu?" says Miriam. "Take the recipe."This is Miriam's mandelbrot.Mandelbrot:3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tbsp. baking powderPinch of salt1/2 tsp. cinnamon1/4 tsp. cloves1 cup finely chopped walnuts1/2 cup chopped almonds1 1/4 cups sugar4 eggs1 tsp. vanilla extract1tsp. almond extract6 oz. vegetable oil10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)Preheat oven to 350?FSift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves into a mixing bowl (a shisl). Add the walnuts, almonds, and sugar. Mix. Make a well in the flour mixture. To the well, add the eggs. Capture all the egg white from the shell with your thumb. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, and oil. Mix first with a fork, then with your hands. Add chocolate chips, if desired.Chill the dough for at least six hours, preferably overnight. Remove from the fridge and divide into four parts. On a floured board, roll each section into a snake-shaped loaf 18 inches long. place "snakes" onto pan greased with margarine. Flatten dough loaves until 1/2-inch thick. Bake at 350?F., for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Lift loaves off pans carefully (Miriam uses two spatulas.) Set on a clean surface (the rolling board is fine).Wipe the baking pans. Remove any particles or crumbs, but don't grease again. Slice the loaves 3/4-inch thick, at an angle. Arrange slices flat on the pans. bake again at 350?F., for 15-20 minutes until light brown.